Day 6: Ghemi to Tsarang
Trip Start
Oct 13, 2010
1
27
69
Trip End
Mar 08, 2011
Kehami, Nepal
Monday, November 15, 2010
The other funny thing was that over the past couple days, every time I used the bathroom Dipesh would check in with me to see how my stomach was doing and if I had had a BM yet. I had never talked so much about my BM with another person as I did with him. He was very pleased that the time had finally come, even thought I made us start late. And so off we went.
From Ghemi we had to go down to the river and cross a bridge. After climbing back up we passed by a hospital which was funded by a Japanese organization. Apparently when it was brand new it had a great set up with lots of equipment, including a small x-ray machine. Now 10 years later it is pretty dilapidated, but still functional for basic stuff. After that we climbed up and up for hours till the next pass Tsarang La at 3870 meters. Again I used my music trick when it got really steep and that helped a bit. After that pass it was down hill for a long time again until we reached Tsarang, the second largest town in Upper Mustang and the former capital. Thankfully that was where we were staying that day. We arrived at lunch time even though we started late and had a nice bowl of veggie noodle soup. Then we went to visit another monastery and to see the abandoned kings summer palace. The palace was built in 1378 and once boasted the greatest library in Mustang, but has been empty for the last 70 years. The village has electricity after 5pm from a local hydro power station.
After walking around the village we returned to the cozy kitchen and I read while Simon, the guys and a handful of locals watched a Nepali movie, from my guess is the 70's, called "Gang Fight". It was an action movie with lots of fighting and gangs, haha. Because firewood is more scarce the higher up we went, the locals collect and dry the cattles droppings and use them as fuel. So our dinner that night was cooked over a dung fueled fire. Delicious! haha. It really burns very hot and honestly there's no taste or smell, it wasn't unpleasant at all. There was one woman who with her husband owned the teahouse. Her husband was actually in New York working somewhere for 2 years, and so she had two other women who lived and worked there to help her run the teahouse.
After dinner I asked if I could use the hot water bottle again, so she filled it for me and then we all retired to bed and slept well. Tomorrow would be a moderate day again hiking all the way to Lo Manthang, the capital of Mustang, and our final destination.
